Days of Our Lives
by LordeMidnight
Summary: Soap Opera/Modern!AU. Rick just caught Lori cheating; Maggie's having second thoughts about her engagement; Daryl's wrestling with his attraction to Beth; Philip must find who killed his wife and daughter in a car accident; Abraham suffers from PTSD; Sasha wrestles with the guilt of not being able to rescue a family in a fire. Not really "Days of Our Lives", but I needed a title. M
1. Chapter 1

**Soap Opera!AU.** Maggie and Glenn are getting married! With all the main characters gathering at Greene farm, secrets will be released and scandal will run rampant. Rick is in the wake of dealing with Lori's infidelity; Philip is hell-bent on finding out who killed his wife and daughter in a car accident; Carol is trying to find her footing in the wake of leaving her abusive ex-husband with the help of Daryl, who is wrestling his feelings for Beth; Abraham is suffering from major PTSD after being dishonorably discharged from the army; and Sasha must deal with the guilt of being unable to save a family from a fire. Rated M for sex scenes, violence and language.

**Rating**: M

**Pairings: **It's a soap opera, so more pairings are subject to occur, but for right now it's: Beth/Daryl, Rick/Lori, Governor/Andrea, Bob/Sasha, Lori/Shane, Maggie/Glenn, Beth/Jimmy, Rosita/Abraham. I don't discriminate and basically ship whatever, so we'll see how that goes.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own The Walking Dead.

**Main Characters:** Rick, Maggie, Daryl, the Governor, Michonne, Carol, Andrea, Abraham, Sasha

**Recurring:** Lori, Carl, Shane, Hershel, Beth, Shawn, Merle, T-Dog, Ed, Amy, Jimmy, Zach, Rosita, Eugene, Tyreese, Gareth, Milton, Tara, Lilly

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><p><span><em><strong>Episode 1<strong>_

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><p>Two lines. Two faint pink lines stared back into disbelieving bright blue eyes. Rick felt an unfamiliar tug in his lower stomach. His ears rang as if a shot had been fired in a closed tank. He felt faint. And then the door was wrenched open, and he could suddenly hear again when his name met his ears. He turned. Lori. Wide brown eyes and a slightly open mouth. Rick cocked his head to the side and waved the pregnancy test at her.<p>

"We haven't had sex in weeks."

"Rick-"

"How?"

Lori stared at him. Her eyes showcased unshed tears. "Rick, listen-"

"Answer the question. How?"

"I...I…" Lori fumbled with her words when trying to come up with an explanation. "I was drunk…"

"I don' want to hear it," said Rick, dragging his free hand down his face. Lori made a move to grab his outreached arm that held the test, and he snatched his arm away, throwing the test across the room. It hit the wall with a pathetic "clink!" and dropped to the ground, the two faint lines still boring into his pupils. Lori opened her mouth to speak. "I don' want to fucking hear it, Lori!" he said, voice steady and unwavering, finger pointing toward her belly with one foot forward. "I do not want to hear about how you fucked another man-"

"Rick-"

"No."

"Dad?" a voice came from behind the door. Immediately, a temporary truce was settled between Lori and Rick with a single glance as Lori twisted the handle to open the door, only revealing her still-stricken face to Carl.

"Oh...hey mom, have you seen dad?"

Rick dragged his hand over his face once more and turned to face the mirror. His eyes weren't that bright blue that they were before. They were bloodshot, red standing out against white. "I'm in here, Carl." In the reflection, Rick saw Lori open the door wider, revealing Carl wearing a t-shirt with a paw on the chest, the home phone clutched in his hand.

"Shane's on the phone," he said, holding out the phone for him. Lori made an indistinguishable noise in the back of her throat and left the bathroom.

Rick nodded to him and took the phone from him, checking the caller ID before pressing the phone to his ear. "Shane."

"Rick! Did you get the invitation?"

Rick's eyes narrowed and brow creased as he exited the bathroom and entered the master bedroom. Carl now sat on the floor, playing with the stray cat that they had taken in about a week ago.

"What invitation?"

"You mean you weren't invited? Well, look at that Shane Walsh plus one invited to the wedding before Sheriff Grimes."

"Weddin'?"

"I'm sure you got invited, but I was callin' to ask you who I should take. Becky's the one who's always on my ass about global warming and shit, and the other one, Sandra, she's pretty borin'. Just the other day, I took her to that aquarium, you know, the one downtown…"

Rick tuned Shane out as the cat jumped on Carl's chest. Carl erupted into laughter and laid back, letting the cat paw on his face and meow. He gave Carl and sad smile, and looked through the bedroom door where he could see Lori walking in from getting the mail. He nodded to Carl, and walked down the hallway. Lori looked up when he approached and handed him a thick envelope, with green cursive writing on the front.

_Rick and Lori Grimes_

_122 Manchester Ave._

_Senoia, GA 30276_

The return address was instantly recognizable: Hershel Greene. Based on the weight that the envelope had in his hand, Rick assumed this was the invitation that Shane has glossed over in his phone call. He was still yammering about the two chicks that he was torn between.

"Shane?" interrupted Rick.

"Now before you start about how immoral it is that I'm seein' multiple women-"

"No, Shane, I think I just got the invitation." Rick said, pressing the phone between his left ear and shoulder and tearing the envelope open. Paper fell out onto the foyer table, and Rick sifted through it, reading the centered lines quickly, allowing a small smile to grace his features. "Well, I'll be damned. Glenn and Maggie finally tyin' the knot?"

Shane laughed on the other end while Rick read over the invitation once more.

"Poor kids," he muttered, throwing the invitation back down on the table.

* * *

><p>A beer can fell from the coffee table as Daryl kicked his feet up onto it. Five more shifted around, two falling onto their side. He ignored it and pulled out the cigarette that was behind his ear, lighting it with the lighter he pulled from between the cushions. Inhaling the nicotine, his pulse slowed down and his shaky hands steadied. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror that was adjacent to the television and swore when he saw a black eye.<p>

"Goddamnit, Merle," he muttered, hauling himself off the couch to get an ice pack from the freezer. He pressed the cool compress to his eye and trudged to the mirror, shrugging off his shirt to check for any other bruises. He noticed a cut on his forearm, but other than that, he had managed to walk away from the fistfight with his brother unscathed. The cleanest he had ever been after one. His eyes trailed over his many tattoos, and noticed movement in the reflection.

Daryl whipped his shirt back on in seconds and dropped the ice pack to the ground. He spun around and faced the lady that stood in the doorway to his apartment, her eyes wide and jaw open.

"I'm-I'm sorry. Your mail was in my box again and your door was open and I thought I'd-" explained Meryl or Carol or whatever her name was. Her bright eyes shone with unshed tears at the sight of him, bruised and battered. She had most definitely seen the scars on his back.

"It's alright," grunted Daryl, too tired to give the lady the yelling she deserved. But he knew she had seen the scars more than once, when Daryl had escorted a one night stand to the door shirtless. She had bore the same expression then as she did now. Pity. "You said somethin' bout mail?"

"I guess the mailman can't tell the difference between 'Carol' and 'Daryl'. They do rhyme, after all," said Carol. She waved a nice-looking envelope in the air and tentatively placed it on his kitchen counter.

When she made no move to leave, Daryl grunted, "You need somethin'?"

Her eyes widened, and she quickly explained herself, "Um. No. I just-I got the same letter, or invitation I guess I should say."

"Mm."

"I wasn't aware that you knew the Greene's as well?"

Her question surprised him. He hadn't seen Hershel Greene and his family in two years, since he had rode off with their horse and their cash and nearly killed himself in the process. Daryl shifted uncomfortably.

"Used to," he muttered. He strode across the room and snatched the envelope from the counter, reading the front before ripping it open. "Hm. A wedding."

"Maggie and Glenn," offered Carol. "It's in a month. Do you think you'll go?"

Daryl grunted in response, and Carol took that as her response to leave, but not before getting a final word in. "I hope you do," she said. "The Greene's are great people."

When the door finally closed, Daryl spoke.

"I know."

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><p>Lifeless eyes. Two pairs of lifeless eyes. Two brown eyes, two green eyes stared back at Philip without so much as a blink. He kept waiting… kept waiting for them to blink, for a smile to crinkle the eyes and a laugh to be ripped from their body. But there was none. Nothing. Not so much as a twitch. And he kept waiting.<p>

The parlor room had emptied by this point. It was nearly an hour after the funeral had ended, and two weeks since his life had been ripped to pieces. Philip stood, completely alone, save for his personal assistant standing by his side, waiting patiently for Philip to finish staring and snap back to the present. But it had been an hour. And standing for an hour in front of the two dead bodies of a man's best friend's wife and child took a lot out of Milton, so he finally snapped.

"Philip-"

"No."

"Philip, we have to leave now. They are preparing for the next-"

"No."

Milton fell silent once more. Another fifteen minutes passed, with the aching slowness of molasses.

"Okay," Philip finally said.

Milton nodded and gestured towards the door. When Philip turned, however, he did not see the emptiness of the room that he had expected. One woman, skin as dark as mahogany, sat in the third row, ninth seat. Her head was bowed, and she was silently mouthing words.

"Oh!" said Milton as he turned. "Didn't see you there, miss. They're about to prepare for the next one, so if you could make your way to the exit…"

The woman slowly looked up at him and nodded once. She stood and gracefully made her way to the exit, leaving Philip and Milton to stare after her. After a few moments, they regrouped and exited the room, walking at a brisk pace down the hall.

"Anything on the calendar for the next week?"

"You have a meeting with the Senators at 2 o'clock this Wednesday, so you'll have to prepare for that."

"Anything else?"

"Well, this isn't news really, but I thought I should let you know that you got invited to Maggie Greene's wedding."

Philip halted right before they reached the double doors that led out to the overcast day. "Really?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Milton stopped as well, hand halfway to the door handle. "When you were...grieving...Hershel and Annette showed up. They extended an invitation. The wedding's in about a month."

Philip exited the building then, only to be met with an onslaught of cameras and yelling. A blonde woman in a black trench walked up and put her arm around him, talking loudly over the paparazzi to try and escort him to the black car that waited on the road. Philip accepted the help without question.

"Governer, can you tell us about your plans-"

"Will you be running in the upcoming election-"

"In the wake of your family's death-"

"Governor-"

"Governor-"

The noise finally ceased when Philip, the blond woman and Milton were safely tucked into the black car. The blond woman barked an order at the driver that Philip chose to ignore; instead, he rested his eyes on her face, taking in her pretty features and soft blue eyes. When she turned to face him, however, he realized she was more menacing that she seemed at first glance. Her face was full of determination.

"Governor Philip Blake," she greeted. "Andrea," she extended her hand for him to shake.

The Governor took her hand, but cocked his head at her, questions in his eyes. "Andrea?"

"Your lawyer."

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><p>"Sasha, babe, please open the door."<p>

Sasha stood against a white door, her skin in stark contrast to it as she pressed her back further into the wood. Tears were streaming down her face, and she couldn't stop her body from shaking. Bob's knocks pounded against the door, matching the rhythm of her heart, which hammered against her ribcage.

She shook her head quickly. "I can't," her voice cracked, and she swallowed the frog that threatened to leap from her throat.

"Babe, please, I know you're happy to see me."

A smile broke across Sasha's features, her scared and stricken expression being replace by sheer happiness. "I can't open it, Bob, you can't see me in the state that I'm in." Her breathing was ragged as she tried to slow her pulse.

"I guess you don't want to see the state I'm in, then." Bob tried to keep his words under his breath, but they reached Sasha's ears despite the loudness of her sobs.

"W-what?" Sasha spat out. The invitation that she had previously been clutching in her hand fell to the ground. She whipped around and yanked the door open. "What are you talking about Bob Stookey?" She warned, her voice dangerously low. As she spoke, her eyes raked over his body for any signs of injury while he was away. His army uniform hid any injury though, so she found herself pulling back his sleeves in search.

Bob smiled and tears rose to his eyes at the sight of his girlfriend. "Babe," he said, taking her hands in his and looping them around his neck. "I'm fine. I'm alive. No injury."

"But-but you said-"

"I'd have said anything to get you to open that door," said Bob. His smile turned into a playful smirk, and despite herself, Sasha found herself grinning back at him, hugging him fully. "Aren't you gonna invite me in?"

Sasha yanked herself away and slapped him on her arm. "Like hell I'm gonna invite you in after you played me like that!"

Bob wrapped his arms around her, then. He buried his nose into her shoulder, breathing in her scent as best he could. "What's this?" he asked, breaking the hug and stepping around her. He picked up the letter that Sasha had dropped off of the ground.

"I see you're just walkin' into my apartment now, no invitation necessary," chided Sasha. She plucked the papers from his hands and walked further into the apartment.

"Well what is it?" asked Bob.

"A wedding invitation."

"Do I know the lucky couple?" said Bob. He followed her into the kitchen, where she tacked the invitation onto a corkboard that held a calendar and other letters.

"In fact, you do."

"Are you gonna tell me or am I gonna have to guess?" Bob walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed the top of her head, then nuzzled her neck.

"Maggie Greene and her boyfriend."

"That Asian fellow?"

"The very one."

"Lucky them."

* * *

><p>"56% compatible."<p>

Maggie stared at the older lady. Her lower lip quivered as the boy that was sitting next to her smiled. "56%. What a relief! To be honest, I thought it was going to be closer to like, 10. This is great news! Right, Maggie?"

Maggie pulled her hand from Glenn's grasp. "Is there any way that that could have been a mistake?"

The lady sensed her apprehension and jotted something down on her clipboard before speaking. "About all marriages are around 50% compatible."

Maggie vaguely heard Glenn say, "Hey, we're six more percent compatible than average!" She felt the blood rush from her head as she stood; she swayed slightly as her vision went dark and could feel Glenn jumping to her side to steady her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine; headrush."

"No, I mean, are you okay with 56%?"

Maggie didn't answer.

Glenn sighed.

They pulled away.

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><p><strong>An**: So it's obviously gonna get more soapy but I think it's pretty dramatic for a first chapter. The next will be everyone getting ready for the wedding, and I'll do vignettes on other featured characters, like Andrea, Carol, and Abraham, who are also main characters. Please please please **favorite, follow and REVIEW!** I've written facfiction before and there's nothing greater than getting that notification email. Let me know if you like this, because reader response will basically determine whether or not I will continue this. Also, it's completely unedited or revised, I literally finished it and decided to post, so I'm sorry if there are any grammatical errors!


	2. Chapter 2

**_Episode_ 2**

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><p>The coffee wasn't warm anymore. It was cold. Stale. The smoke wasn't swirling up into his nostrils anymore, filling his sense. It was gone. Nonexistent.<p>

Daryl watched the man beside him ask for a refill and momentarily considered asking for a new beverage himself, but got caught up in his thoughts once more. He mulled over the invitation to the wedding. Did Hershel have an ulterior motive? Of course not, the man was as pure as fucking Jesus himself. Daryl groaned and slid his head that was resting in his palm down into the crook of his arm when a voice that sounded like honey and sweet tea broke his train of thought.

"Daryl? Daryl Dixon?"

Resisting the impulse to look up at the owner of the voice, he croaked out a grunt in hopes that it would ward off the unwanted person.

"Oh come on," said the voice. In fact, it had the audacity to pull his arm out from underneath his forehead, and Daryl lost his balance for a second before straightening up. He looked into the crystal blue eyes of a girl with long, blond hair and smooth, unblemished skin. Not being able to help himself, Daryl's eyes swept over her body, noting the curve of her waist and breast. The girl must have been the sweetest thing in Senoia, and Daryl smirked when a blush graced her features. Her skirt reached just above mid-thigh, so Daryl let his eyes linger there as she spoke again, "It's me. Beth Greene."

Immediately, Daryl snapped out of it, turning so that he was facing straight forward in his seat. Now he was the one to blush, embarrassed at being caught checking out Hershel's daughter, the barely-legal one at that. "Hm," he said.

"Now don't say you don't remember me," said Beth as she slid into the seat opposite of him. Daryl's eyes traced her shirt collar, and he bit his lip to hold back a loud exhale. Beth noticed, of course, but didn't pull up her hemline and instead gave him a smirk.

"I remember ya," grunted Daryl. "You just looked a whole lot different three years ago."

"I was a sophomore then, Daryl," said Beth, rolling her eyes. "I'm in college now."

Daryl grunted.

"Aren't you gonna ask where I go?"

"Where do you go?"

"The freaking community college," said Beth. "I couldn't leave the farm. You were right, all that time ago."

"Didn' wanna be."

Beth smiled and shook her head. "I'm glad you were," she said. "I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else."

The waitress decided to approach them at that time and asked Beth if she would like anything. The girl asked for a sweet tea, and Daryl let a smirk bubble to the surface as the woman walked away.

"What're you smilin' at?" said Beth.

"Ya still like sweet tea. Nothin's really changed."

Beth pondered this for a moment, her head tilted towards the ceiling and teeth gnawing on her bottom lip. Daryl had to force his eyes away. "You're right. Nothin's changed. I'm still with Jimmy. Probably gonna marry him at this point. Oh! Did you hear? Maggie's gettin' married!"

Daryl grunted, biting his thumb.

The waitress sat Beth's sweet tea down. "Can I get you a refill, sweetie?" she gave Daryl a toothy grin and crossed her arms in front of her chest to make her boobs look bigger.

"Check's fine," said Daryl, eyes remaining on Beth.

The waitress huffed and turned away. Beth's eyes widened after her. "Good Lord," said Beth. "Ya think she coulda hit on you harder if she tried?"

Daryl decided this wouldn't be the best moment to mention that he's hooked up with that very waitress. Twice. In the diner's bathroom.

Beth kept babbling. "But yeah. Maggie's tyin' the knot. Never thought she would though, because Glenn's kinda sensitive. Not really her type. She spent all day yesterday goin' on and on about how they were only a 56% match. Whatever that means. Daddy wasn't too happy when Maggie announced that they were engaged, but I saw Glenn with his watch the other day, so they're making progress. Oh God… I haven't asked you anythin'. How're you doin'? Anythin' new?"

Daryl took a moment to reply. "I got an invite to that wedding you won' shut up about."

Beth's jaw dropped a little bit. "You mean… Maggie invited you?"

"Hmm," said Daryl.

"Oh," said Beth. She blinked, obviously processing the mere thought of Daryl back on the Greene farm.

"Damn," grunted Daryl. "Someone don' look too happy 'bout it."

Beth rolled her eyes. "I told Maggie she should invite you. I didn't think she would is all."

"You what?"

"I told Maggie she should invite you," said Beth promptly. She reached out and grabbed her sweet tea. Daryl watched as her lips wrapped around the straw, and for what felt like the thousandth time that night, had to avert his eyes. "So," said Beth as she put the tea back on the table, leaning forward so Daryl could see straight down her blouse, "Are ya comin' or what?"

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><p>Andrea situated herself behind her desk, noting the out of place pens and spare paperclips that littered it. Pressing a finger to her forehead, she let out a heavy sigh, exhaling the stress that the day had entailed. Picking up Governor Blake from his wife's funeral had been an occasion, but trying to get him to talk to her was a whole other ballgame. Upscale clients like himself were reasons why Andrea had tried to get away from the corrupt side of the law and immerse herself into environmentalism, convincing herself that she was trying to save the planet and create a better place for people to survive.<p>

"Look at how well that turned out," muttered Andrea, checking her phone. It beeped with two unread text messages, and she sighed yet again when she saw who they were from. Her boss, the infamous Gareth.

_I need you to set up another appointment with Blake if we are going to keep this ordeal under wraps._

_Seriously. Text me when you can. You owe me._

Andrea's fingers hovered over the keypad, twitching impatiently. Finally, she threw her phone to the desk just as her associate, Dale Horvath was passing by. Instead of strolling by with a quick wave and friendly smile like he normally did, the man actually walked backwards to put himself in front of her open door again.

"Long day?" he asked.

"You could say that," said Andrea. She pulled her hair free from the restraining ponytail and let it frame her face. The tightness in her skin was relieved, and she lolled her head back at the feeling.

"I know what you mean," said Dale, waving papers in front of him. Andrea gave him a polite, but tired smile. Apparently, the older man took that as a cue to walk in and seat himself in front of her desk. "There was this client that I'm representing and earlier-"

"It's Dale, right?" said Andrea. She leaned forward and propped her elbows on the desk.

"Uh, yeah."

"Dale," said Andrea, "I really hate to say this, but I really don't have time for small talk right now. I'm in the middle of a big case."

To Andrea's surprise, Dale didn't blush or stutter or do any of the things that her associated normally did when she shut them down. Instead, he gave a nod in the form of a head bobble and pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket. He set it down on the desk in front of her, and Andrea recognized it as a business card.

"If you ever need to talk, or just…" Dale waved his hand in front of him a little helplessly, "whatever. I'm always available."

And with that, Dale left the office, smiling at every co-worker that he passed.

* * *

><p>Rick watched Shane's eyes widened by a fraction of an inch. He saw his pupils dilate and mouth open to let a fresh stream of air into his lungs. And he knew. He knew the moment the words "Lori's pregnant" left his mouth.<p>

"Lori's...Lori's pregnant?" said Shane.

Rick nodded.

"Well congratulations, buddy!" said Shane, clapping him on the back a little too forcefully. "Baby number two."

Now Rick shook his head. "It ain't mine."

Shane paused for a moment, the smile going still on his face. His features were stone, and it took him a moment to recover. He fell back into his smile; his arm drifted to his head, scratching the back. "Whaddya mean it ain't yours?"

"I mean what I say, which is more than I can say for Lori," he said. "She's been lyin' for months...about where she's goin', who she's seein'. Doin' stuff...and thangs."

"But you don't know for sure she's been cheatin'?"

Rick's hands were firmly planted on his hips as he shifted his weight. "Call it a feelin'."

Shane nodded, processing the information rather quickly for a man who just found out that he was going to be a father.

"'Sides...we haven't had sex in weeks."

"I'm...I'm sorry, man," said Shane, falling against the police car adjacent to them. His lungs let out a whoosh of air.

"Yeah," said Rick, joining him against the car. His eyes never left Shane's face. "Me too."

* * *

><p>"Maggie...this dress is too tight...I can't-"<p>

Maggie looked away from the mirror that she was currently staring at and rushed over to free Tara from the lavender dress that was indeed, at least five sizes too small. Tara let in a large gasp of air and smiled shyly at Maggie as she did. "Thanks," she said. "I guess that Beth and I got our dresses mixed up."

Maggie turned and looked at Beth who was frowning at her reflection. The dress slumped around her figure, and Maggie giggled at the sight of her sister wearing what looked like a sack. Rosita, Sasha and Amy had managed their dresses fine, admiring themselves in the mirror.

"Abraham's gonna love this," chirped Rosita, turning in a circle.

"Same with Bob," said Sasha. Every girl in the room 'awed' at that; they had only learned an hour ago that Bob had returned from his duty at the army.

"What about Jimmy, Beth?" asked Rosita.

Beth frowned, pulling off her dress when she realized she had the wrong size. "Things with Jimmy have been...distant lately. Nothin' serious. He's just actin' kinda immature."

Maggie rolled her eyes, "Well we always knew that about him." She walked over and switched the dresses, walking back over to Tara.

"Thanks," said Tara.

Maggie sensed her hesitance and gave her a small smile. "Hey. No need to be shy. I know you don't know these girls-or me-very well, but any friend of Glenn is a friend of ours."

"I know," said Tara, stepping into the dress. "It's just weird. It was just me and Glenn for a long time when ya'll were on your break or whatever. Like, as friends though dude. I like chicks."

Maggie laughed, "I know, Glenn told me."

"Word," said Tara, finally breaking out of her shell. "Pound it."

Maggie looked down at Tara's outstretched fist and bumped her own to it. She signaled for Tara to turn and face the mirror and zipped up the dress. Tara smiled at her reflection and strained her neck to look at the other girls. With a soft smile, she said, "I gotta feelin' this is gonna be a great wedding."

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><p><strong>An:** Soo that's chapter 2! Let me know how you like and if any character was OOC. Please please PLEASE _**favorite, follow or review**_...let me know this isn't too terrible ;)


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

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><p>The farm was quiet. Serene. Just as Rick remembered it. The sun hung high in the sky, erasing any shad that he might taken solace in by standing right next to the barn-the very barn that he and Shane and Carol and Hershel and...Sophia had made many memories in. Sophia. Rick traced the letters of her name on the outside of the battered doors, near the lock that held them together, barring any outsider from entrance. S-o-p-h-i-a. Rick sighed. He and Lori said if they had ever had another daughter, they'd name her Sophia.<p>

Rick's name being called out from a distance caused him to turn, chin resting on his shoulder. At the house on the porch stood Maggie; she waved her hand in a slow back and forth motion, and Rick allowed himself to take solace in the deja vu that overcame him then, when almost three years ago, she stood there, same voice, same motion, with different circumstances. Maggie seemed to catch herself and hesitantly lowered her arm and cradled it to her chest. Rick started to make his way over to the barn, eyes trained on the horse-trodden ground.

When he made it to the porch, Maggie gave him a quick smile-almost a grimace-and stared out over the land. Rick creaked up the wooden stairs and joined her at the railing, propping his elbows up on it and leaning over.

"It's weird not seein' you in your uniform," said Maggie. She now shielded the sun from her eyes, still avoiding looking at him.

"Yeah," said Rick, "Lot's changed."

Maggie didn't respond for a beat or two. "I'm assumin' you got my invitation."

"I did."

"Can y'all make it?" Maggie turned to look Rick full on now. She worried her lower lip into her teeth, and her expression changed to nervousness.

Rick let out a small laugh and shifted so that he now leaned on his right elbow. "Carl and I will be there."

Maggie caught on and gave him an amused smile. "Just you and Carl?"

"I believe the invitation called for a plus one."

"I was thinkin' you would take..." said Maggie. She trailed off at the end, noticing how Rick's expression momentarily darkened at the thought of taking his wife to the wedding.

Rick now turned so that he rested on both elbows again, returning to the simple imagery of the farm. His eyes narrowed on the barn, and if he tried, he could trick himself into thinking that he could see the engraving of Sophia's name by the door.

"Oh," said Maggie, finally. "I'm-I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," said Rick. He straightened up to his full height. He spoke again, much louder and cheerful than before, "So who's the lucky man?!"

Maggie smiled, a bit shy now. "His name's Glenn," she giggled, "he delivers pizzas."

Rick's blue eyes sparkled, "Ain't nothing wrong with that."

"No, I guess not," said Maggie. "I jus' think it's funny."

Another silence overtook them, before Rick spoke up.

"Your father around?"

"He's in the barn," said Maggie. Rick raised his eyebrows at her, and his eyes flicked over to Sophia's name. She quickly corrected herself, "The other barn. With the horses…Nelly's givin' birth." She jutted her thumb over her shoulder.

"Maybe I'll come another time, then."

Rick made his way down the creaky steps and started to amble on over to his Hyundai parked by a small cluster of trees, when he heard Maggie calling for him.

"Rick!"

Rick turned, hands on his hips. Maggie speed-walked over to him.

"There's no hard feelin's. We still love and trust you. You're still family."

Rick gave another nod and a final glance over at the barn, tricking himself once again to read the words:

_Sophia Peletier_

_Oct. 2, 2001-Aug. 5, 2011_

_Beloved daughter and goddaughter._

* * *

><p>Andrea pressed her fingers into her temples in an effort to soothe the headache that would undoubtedly be coming on in about five minutes-<em>most likely fifteen, because he's sure to be late<em>, thought Andrea as she fiddled with her ring now, turning it round and round and-

"Howdy, sugar," drawled a familiar southern accent. Andrea internally groaned and looked up at her oldest and, dare she say it, dearest client.

"Merle," she greeted curtly. She unlocked her phone and pretended to tap a quick message out before slipping it into her purse. "Please, sit."

Merle, arm in a sling, slumped into the chair opposite her, an appreciative grin plastered on his face. The whites of his eyes were tinged pink, and Andrea could smell the marijuana on him from across the table. _At least it's not meth this time. _

"I see you're stoned," said Andrea. She rolled her eyes and opened the cheap plastic menu in front of her to peruse the options at the tiny diner.

"Got a good deal on this kush," said Merle. "Nice strain from down in Meh-hee-co."

"Whatever," said Andrea, giving up on the coffee-stained menu and pushing it to the side. "What trouble are you in this time?"

"Didn't you read my text?" grinned Merle, showcasing a missing molar.

"I believe it read: '_Meet at diner. In deep shit.'_" recited Andrea.

"There ya have it," said Merle. "I'm in deep shit."

"What kind of deep shit?"

"Cop mightta caught me with a kilo or so..." he said casually, pulling a flask from his back pocket to take a sip. Andrea's eyes bugged out of her head, and her jaw dropped slightly. "...of meth."

Andrea's jaw snapped shut, and she let out a bark of laughter, "How?"

"I don' wanna talk about it," muttered Merle, looking around the room. "I just need _you_-" he leaned forward now, licking his lips, eyes gleaming "-to make it go away."

"How'd the _fuck _did you make bail?"

"Shit, sugartits, you talk as if you haven't seen my stash of cash before. 'Sides, even if you don' wanna do it, you gotta."

"And why's that?" clipped Andrea, fishing for her phone to pretend to answer very important e-mails.

"Remember that loan I gave you?"

Andrea's head cocked to the side, "Oh my God, what about it?"

"Said you'd pay me back. Either you got the cash, or you got my case."

Andrea's fingers hovered over her keyboard. Right then, a text chimed in.

_Appointment with Blake at 3. You WILL make this up to me. -Gareth_

"I have the cash."

"Do you now?" asked Merle, eyebrows jumping to his hairline.

"Yes. Well. Not yet. I have a very important client though. After I get paid-"

"Uh-uh," Merle crooned, waving a dirty finger in front of her face, "No cash up front, no deal."

"Okay. I'll take your case. And I bet you I can keep you out of the court. Just give me a month or so."

"Got all the time in the world," said Merle, spreading his arms wide eagle. "So whaddya say you an' me go back to my place an'-"

"Nope," said Andrea, exiting the diner as fast as she could, phone clutched tightly in her hand.

The beeping of machines. The harsh, white fluorescent light beating down from above. The sterile smell of disinfectant and whatever it is that hospitals smell like. Sasha blinked back tears at the doctor's words. _Bob… Cancer… Leg… Amputation…_ She looked around, desperately, to find anyone who's emotions matched her own at that moment. Bob's head was thrusted back, but he was taking in the news with a quiet dignity. Sasha, on the other hand, was enraged.

"What do you mean he has 'cancer'?"

"You know what it means, Sasha," said Bob, squeezing her hand tightly. "It means _sick_. It means _treatment_. But it also means _trial _ and _faith_ and prayer, and I think it will bring us closer together and to God-"

"No," said Sasha definitively, standing and releasing Bob's hand. "We are not playin' that game right now, that game where you list all the good that comes with the bad. There is no good that comes with cancer. No good."

Bob watched her, tears in his eyes. But they weren't selfish tears. They weren't tears that were sad because of his cancer, tears because he had a 2% chance of surviving. They were tears because Sasha refused to accept it-refused to accept _him_ and the package that he came in. War and cancer and alcoholism. So Sasha let out a heavy breath and collapsed back into the chair next to him. "I'm sorry, baby," she said, taking his hand and pressing it to her lips, "I'm so so sorry. I don't wanna lose you."

Bob nodded and now pulled their entwined hands to his own lips to kiss them the same. "I don't wanna leave you. But this will make us stronger," he said. Sasha opened her mouth to chastise him for bringing up the good, but he beat her to it: "It _will_ make us stronger. I'm not just sayin' that to beat you at the game. Survival ain't about winning."

Sasha nodded and smiled through her tears. "If you say so," she said. Then, without moving her eyes from his, she asked, "Dr. Stevens?"

"Yes?"

"Can we go over treatment plans?"

* * *

><p>"Let's talk bachelor parties!" squealed Beth, rearranging the notecards she cradled in her hand. "Who are you inviting, Maggie?"<p>

Maggie picked at a piece of dirt under her fingernail, "Rosita, Sasha, Amy, Tara...you, but we're gonna have to get you a fake. Andrea too if she's up for it."

"What about Lori? Or Carol?"

"You didn' hear?" asked Maggie, leaning forward, a gleam in her eye. "Rick and Lori are, well, I dunno exactly, but they ain't together."

"Why?" asked Beth. "That's awful."

"They were never right for each other," said Maggie, organizing errant pictures of wedding pictures that littered the living room couch. She suddenly seemed overly uncomfortable, so Beth continued.

"Carol?"

"Do you think Ed'll let her?"

"We can ask."

Maggie nodded, "Alrighty then."

"Where are we goin'?"

"Prolly that bar that you like that's downtown first and then-" Maggie glanced in Glenn's direction, who was looking a certain speck of dust on his phone, ears tinged pink and eyes unmoving "-a quiet night in." Maggie winked at Beth.

"I was worried about strippers there for a second," said Glenn, now typing away at his phone.

"Nooo, of course not," said Maggie, before nodding at Beth and mouth yes animatedly. Beth giggled and jotted it down on the card. "Speakin' of strippers, will there be any at your bachelor party, Glenn?"

Glenn's head shot up and the blush that was barely visible on his ears not spread to his neck and beyond. "W-what? No! Of course not… um… I'm just gonna...go eat some banana bread." He bolted from the room then, leaving Maggie with an amused smirk and quirked eyebrow.

"That answers that," said Maggie. "He can't keep a secret to save his life."

Beth laughed just as her phone dinged to signal a message.

_Have u talked to Maggie yet? -D._

Beth bit her lip and clicked out a reply.

_I will. Promise. She's trying to figure out the bachelor parties right now. I'll ask when we get to the guest list! :)_

_k. -D._

"Who's that?" asked Maggie. "Jimmy?"

"Mmhh," said Beth, quickly locking her phone and tossing it onto the cushion behind her.

Maggie's eyes narrowed, "Speakin' of people who can't keep a secret."

Beth blushed. "It's not a boy...not like romantically."

Maggie laughed, "Who is it?"

"Daryl Dixon," said Beth in a small voice, toying with her nail buds.

Maggie's laughed boomed, "Bethy, you had the biggest crush on him three years ago, and now you're _texting _him?"

"I saw him at the diner!" defended Beth, but the smile that graced her features gave her away; neither Maggie nor Beth was serious about the argument-it was as light-hearted as could be.

"What're you two textin' about?" said Maggie, half-heartedly trying to steal Beth's phone.

Beth's face quickly became somber. "He wants to know why...after what happened with daddy and the way you reacted...why he's invited."

Maggie sighed. "He's still family, Bethy. What he did was wrong, but I think...I think he did it 'cause he-"

Glenn entered the room at that moment, mouth full of banana bread. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nothin'," said Beth, sharing a small smile with Maggie. "I'll be in my bedroom."

She took her phone with her upstairs and unlocked her phone to see two new messages staring at her.

_Anything? -D._

_Wanna meet up? -D._

Beth let a small giggle bubble out of her.

_Yes! :) Diner in 15?_

_ok._

Beth smiled and ran out of her room, right by the picture that hung by her door of her and Sophia Peletier.

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><p><strong>An:** I really like this chapter, especially having Andrea use her phone as a defense mechanism. I don't know, I just feel like that fit her well. I'm hoping it's not OOC with Merle, I really tried to think of what he would say! Let me know what you think! I'm especially proud of Rick's section. I don't know though, let me know by r_**eviewing, following and favoriting!**_! It seriously means so much to me when I get an email. Thanks to all those who have :)


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